On Tap with...Nina Sola

Just last year, sophomore Nina Sola walked onto the men’s heavyweight crew team with no experience to be a coxswain. This week, The Daily Princetonian sat down with Sola to talk about rowing, embarrassing incidents, and PB&J sandwiches.

Daily Princetonian: Where are you from and what’s the best part about being from there?

Nina Sola: I’m from London and it’s nice because I have a memorable accent.

DP: What are you studying?

NS: Woodrow Wilson [School] and Russian.

DP: How did you get into being a coxswain?

NS: A friend of mine on the lightweight team told me to come join and I showed up — they threw me in a boat in the rain, and it was a great time.

DP: What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s happened to you while on the team, on or off the water?

NS: I once unzipped my pocket and a bunch of tampons fell out, and I’m on the boy’s team, and someone went, “Ooo, what’s that?…Oh, uh, never mind.”

DP: If you did another sport at Princeton, which one would it be, and why?

NS: I think hockey, because it just looks like a great time.

DP: In your opinion, what’s the weirdest American food?

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NS: Probably Uncrustables because you can make yourself a PB&J with relative ease — I’m not quite sure why it’s necessary to buy them in a bag.

DP: If you were a marshmallow-related food, what would you be?

NS: Definitely a Peep.

DP: If you were on a deserted island and could bring any three things, what would they be?

NS: Am I allowed to bring a boat?

DP: Sure, anything you want.

NS: No. It would be a surfboard, because I’d spend my time learning to surf, and a pony and a flashlight — a flashlight might be useful. And the pony would give me something to do — I imagine a desert island would be quite boring.

DP: And for the typical on tap question, if the four fingers and thumb on one of your hands were drink dispensers, what drinks would they dispense?

NS: Definitely White Russian, Ginger Ale, Gatorade, a good triple IPA and maybe strawberry mint spa water.